They had broken up almost a fortnight ago and the second thoughts she had been trying hard to suppress were rearing their ugly heads today.
She was in a bad mood, fuelled by the fact that everyone around her seemed to be waxing lyrical about love, romance and the fact that this particular Friday was St Valentine's Day. The shops had been filled with cards, tacky gifts and overpriced flowers to celebrate some guy from centuries ago who defied his ruler to do whatever he wanted and was dealt swift and bloody justice when he was caught.
What was to celebrate about that!
With all the talk of love, her thoughts couldn't help but turn to Neil. According to the rules, the relationship between them had been wrong but it had been right in every other way and she had actually wondered what this day would have been like if they were still together. Would she have grumbled as he insisted on being overly romantic, making her cringe while he showered her with tokens of his affection? Or would he have been able to suppress his natural instincts by not smothering her and showing how well he really knew her by playing it cool despite himself?
I guess, thanks to her decision, she'd never know.
"Happy Valentine's Day" Park chimed as he and Reznick approached while she stood lost in thought at the admin desk in the Emergency Room.
"Save it, it's not a public holiday" she snapped before handing them the patient record she had been reviewing and stalking away towards the elevators.
"Guess it's a touchy subject" Reznick said rolling her eyes. "Let's get this done" she stated, before turning to head towards curtain six for their consult.
As the doors were about to close, she heard a desperate sounding voice call out to hold the elevator. She pressed the hold button and a second or two later, a massive bunch of flowers appeared, totally obscuring the delivery guy behind them.
"Sorry!' the guy exclaimed. "Excuse me" he said as he edged in next to Audrey. "Busy day" he smiled, attempting to make small talk.
"I bet" Audrey said with a grimace.
"Are you Dr Elwood? These could be yours?"
"I'm not" she said bluntly looking up and wishing the numbers would pass by more quickly. As the doors opened on the fifth floor for someone to get in, she exited despite it being two floors down from where she needed to be. She would take the stairs the rest of the way and hope not to run into him again.
Getting to her office in record time, she greeted her assistant, closed the door behind her and went straight to the sideboard to set her coffee machine to go. Despite her high status, she was not about to start asking people to make coffee for her.
Turning to her desk, the little brown box caught her eye. There was no label, no fancy wrapping and no obvious sign of where it had come from. Opening the lid, she drew in a sharp breath. The smell from inside assaulted her senses and she closed her eyes and took a deeper breath.
Fresh white chocolate macadamia nut cookies - one of her favourites. She knew right away where these had come from and the thought of sending them back crossed her mind before she let out a huff and sat down to enjoy one with her coffee.
X
The rest of her morning had been uneventful. She had spent the remainder of it in a budget meeting and was slowly walking back to her office for the second time that day.
Her assistant was away from her desk this time around and she was disappointed. They had developed a little routine that involved her having lunch ready for her after epic meetings such as these but it looked like she'd forgotten today. Scanning her desk in hope she'd left a little something, she sighed before breaking a banana from the bunch in the small waiting area and stepping towards her office door.
'That will have to do' she thought to herself.
For the second time that day, she saw a brown package on her desk. She smiled widely thinking that Annette had remembered her after all and she sat down pulling it towards her.
Unfolding the brown paper bag, she peered in expecting the sub of the day from the cafeteria downstairs. Reaching inside and carefully unwrapping her lunch, she stopped, placed it gently on the napkin and sat back in her seat.
It was a cold grilled cheese wrapped carefully in waxy paper. Just like she used to eat every day for the first two years of her residency before she branched out into cafeteria food.
It could only have been him and she found herself wavering again. All those second thoughts were bubbling to the surface and telling her how much of a mistake she'd made. She briefly considered wrapping it back up and throwing it in the trash but she was hungry. And as with everything he cooked, his grilled cheese sandwiches were wonderful.
While eating her lunch, she came to a decision. She was going to tell him to stop. These feelings were getting confusing and distracting and she would tell him that as they were leaving tonight.
Only she didn't.
She could see him heading out the front doors just as she started her descent down the staircase into the lobby but he was too far ahead for her to catch up without running. She was certainly not going to be caught running after anyone in public! She would go for a ride to clear her head and speak to him on Monday.
X
"Hi" he exclaimed pulling the door wide open with a smile not expecting to see the individual that was actually stood on his doorstep at 9pm this Friday night.
"Hi" she replied, a little taken back at his over zealous greeting.
"Sorry, we were expecting the pizza delivery" he said, explaining why he was holding a few bills out towards her.
'We' she registered, 'he has company.' Her attention was drawn to the voices in the background and she began to feel that she shouldn't be there.
"You gonna pay the guy, I'm hungry!" Someone called from further inside.
"It's not the pizza" he called back. "It's..."
"I shouldn't have just shown up like this, I'm sorry" she interrupted as she stepped back and turned to walk away. "I didn't know you had company."
"Hang on" he replied, following her out and letting the door close behind him, muting the raucous laughter of the visitors inside. "It's just some of the guys. We all found ourselves at a bit of a loose end" he said, trying to explain.
"You don't need to explain to me" she said with a soft smile. "You can do whatever you like" she shrugged nonchalantly.
"Do you want to come in?" he asked. "Just some friendly poker and pizza."
"I shouldn't" she replied.
"But you could?" he smiled, feeling confident after a couple of bourbons.
"I could" she said smiling back at his goofy face. "You sure I won't be cramping your style?"
"I'm sure" he said, holding out his hand. "Come on?"
She paused.
He waited.
She looked back and forth between his handsome face and his extended hand and decided that it was worth the risk. She linked her fingers with his and followed him inside.
"Excuse me! Excuse me!" they heard from behind them just as they were about to cross the threshold. He sighed and reluctantly let go of her hand as the pizza delivery person actually arrived with dinner. He paid the young lady with the crumpled bills he'd hastily stuffed in his pocket a few minutes earlier and took the two boxes she had been holding. It meant that their little gesture had passed by for now but it had been a good sign.
"About time!"
"It had better not be cold!"
"You invited the delivery girl in?" were the responses they received as they arrived in the kitchen.
"Shut up" Neil said in a blanket response. "This is Audrey. She's going to join us."
"Audrey?" the tall, fair man stood closest said, raising his eyebrow. "As in, 'The Audrey'?"
"Yes" Neil replied abruptly, shutting down the teasing before it could really begin. "Don't be fooled by what you see. She'll probably clean you out!"
"How's your credit line?" asked a guy sat at the table, shuffling the cards.
"Perfect" she smiled as she put her helmet gently on the end if the counter with a smirk. She could take some teasing just fine.
"Most important question" said the last guest. "What do you think of this music?"
She paused a moment to listen before rolling her eyes when she heard some twangy guitar sounds playing quietly in the background.
"Awful" she replied, shrugging at Neil.
"Traitor" he smiled, shaking his head. "Fine, change the music" he said to the group before heading towards the refrigerator.
"Out-voted! Thank you Audrey, you can stay" the card dealer grinned as the other guys took their seats back around the table.
"Beer?" Neil asked peering at her around the refrigerator door. "Something stronger?"
"Soda please" she replied. "Driving" she said nodding at her motorcycle helmet.
"Sure. Here you go" he said holding out a can and smiling as their fingers touched for longer than was necessary.
"You guys going to be joining us!?" came the call from the table, jolting them from their little moment.
"Sure" they said in unison before taking their seats around the table.
X
Around 90 minutes later, it was just Audrey and Neil left in the game. Sat opposite each other, they both maintained stony faces and oozed calmness. The dealer was looking back and forth between them as the pot in the middle of the table grew and grew.
The other two players had excused themselves a few hands ago and were now watching from the barstools with great interest. They were glad their friend wasn't being a soft touch after Audrey had pretty much cleaned them out but they weren't sure how much longer he would last.
With the last of his chips in the middle of the table, Neil sat back with a thoughtful look before placing his cards face down on the table and smirking at her.
"I'll raise you" he said unclipping his beloved Panerai and placing it gently on top of the pile.
The friends looked between them with equal parts confusion and amusement. He loved that watch more than he loved a lot of things. It was the most expensive thing he had ever bought for himself and was his pride and joy.
With a glint in her eye, she got up from her seat and headed to her jacket. After rummaging through her pocket, she walked coolly back to the table before dropping the key to her Ducati right next to his watch.
"Call" she said coolly as she took her seat again.
Neil sat forward with a smile and laid his cards out face up. He had been holding a straight flush - from the 8 of spades right up to the queen.
"Niiiiice" he heard from somewhere behind him but being so focused he didn't know which of his friends had commended him. Raising his eyebrows but not saying a word, he dared her to reveal her hand.
Her face broke into a grin as she casually spread her cards out and she watched with amusement as his shoulders dropped and he let out a big sigh. Shaking his head he held out his hand admitting defeat to her Royal Flush.
"Good game" he smiled.
"Thank you" she replied. "Now that's all done with, I'd best be going" she said cheerfully. "Work tomorrow!"
Graciously accepting the congratulations from Neil's friends, she slid her arms into her jacket before slinging her bag over her shoulder.
"I'll walk you out" Neil said, picking up her helmet of the counter.
"Going to beg for your watch back Melendez" one of his friends teased. He was never going to live this down.
"Sure" he replied over his shoulder as he followed her to the door.
X
He walked a step or two behind her down to her motorcycle which was parked on his driveway behind his car. Wishing that their current situation could offer them a little more privacy, he decided to be bold and take her hand in an almost a mirrored version of the last time she'd visited his house a fortnight ago.
"Why did you come here tonight?" he asked, not really sure that he wanted to know.
"I'm not sure" she replied with a little laugh. "I've wavered between being angry with you and just plain missing you today. I think I was hoping that coming over would help me decide which one I needed to run with."
"Did it?"
"It did" she said. "The cookies and the lunch threw a bunch of mixed feelings at me. But when I got home tonight after clearing my head, I realised I didn't want to be there without you."
"You want to stay? I'll kick those guys out right now, you just say the word" he said with a laugh.
"We need to go slow this time. Tread carefully" she said with a soft smile. "If you want to?" she added quickly, not wanting to be too presumptuous.
"I want to" he said taking a step closer.
"You sure you don't want to think about it when your sober?"
"Nope, quite sure" he replied before closing the last of the gap between them and kissing her.
Raising her hand to stroke his cheek, she found her fingers moving to play with the hairs at the back of his neck eliciting a groan from him that she decided she would never tire of hearing.
Parting slowly, a little breathless, they smiled those smiles before she stepped away and took her helmet from him. She sat astride her bike and slid her hand into her pocket before putting it on.
"Turns out you're not such a terrible poker player after all. Those stakes were pretty high" she said holding out his beloved Panerai between her thumb and forefinger.
"You won that fair and square" he said shaking his head holding up both hands in defeat.
"I can't take this from you" she said imploringly. "You love this thing."
"I love you more" he blurted before leaning in and kissing her again.
She looked at him, her eyes twinkling as she pulled the helmet on and securing it under her chin. She zipped the timepiece safely into her jacket pocket before turning the key. The bike roared to life and Neil took a step back.
"I love you too" she smiled before she lowered her visor and kicked the stand away ready to hit the road.
She raised her hand as she pulled away, and after pausing briefly away the end of his drive, she was gone. He stood and waited a couple of seconds before turning to head back inside and face the merciless teasing he knew was coming.
X
He sat a while after his friends had left, resting a warm, flat bottle of beer on his thigh, just thinking how this evening had turned out very differently to what he'd planned. His phone vibrated across the table in front of him and he snatched it up, hoping it would be her. He smiled as he opened his WhatsApp to see her name at the top of his list of messages.
Opening it, he was surprised to see no message, just a link that he clicked without hesitation. His music streaming account sprang into life and the song began playing through the small speakers dotted discreetly around the room.
"I hate Shakespeare and Gosling and cakes with white frosting
Two names in a heart-shaped tattoo
I think cupid is stupid and violets are purple not blue."
He laughed to himself as he could actually picture her saying those words to him but then came the chorus which made his smile spread into a grin, creasing the corners if his eyes as he laughed out loud.
"I hate love songs (I hate love songs)
Yeah, I really do (I really do)
I hate love songs (I hate love songs)
But I love you"
He listened intently to the next few verses with the same goofy smile on his face and sat a few minutes in silence after it finished.
Picking up his phone again, he sent a simple reply.
'Love you too' he typed, watching the double checks appear as it delivered and smiled softly to himself as they turned blue.
They were going to be just fine.
X
This one came from a guest suggestion of a poker scene after Lims little dig in season 2. Also a request from enjoyseries for a Valentine's chapter :-) Hope you don't mind sharing...enjoy ?!